2010 NFL Mock Draft: A Seahawk Mock to Build the Foundation of a Super Bowl Team

With so many Hawk needs at LT, FS, DE, power back, CB, OG, and WR, it’s a nightmare trying to put together a mock draft to cover all of the bases.

I’m basing this mock draft on guys I’ve seen play, whether it be at the Senior Bowl or on Saturdays. I’m looking for solid productive football players that have some Combine athleticism that are “expected” to go in the range I’m forecasting.

No. 6: Eric Berry, Safety from Tennessee

Typically, this is a high selection to take a safety, but there’s a paradigm shift in this pass-happy NFL that caters to QBs and WRs. Without a ball hawk in the secondary, our beloved Hawks have zero chance against the elite QBs.

You can blame some on the pass rush, but when WRs are streaking into and out of our zones with no quality secondary support, we don‘t stand a chance in today’s NFL.

In 2009, elite QBs like Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Matt Schaub, and Kurt Warner had no problems torching this defense via the air. You can’t pass, no pun intended, on this elite talent, who is like a heatseeking missile flying up from the secondary to take down running backs too.

Eric Berry gives you the ball-hawk abilities of Ed Reed and the run-support prowess of Troy Polamalu in one guy.

No. 14: Either Bruce Campbell from Maryland or Charles Brown from USC, LTs

We need an athletic LT to protect the blind side of our future leader Charlie Whitehurst. Alex Gibbs is supposed to be a guru with OL, so I’d look at Bruce Almighty at No. 14 because Russell Okung, Trent Williams, and Bryan Bulaga are likely to be gone.

Campbell is an athletic specimen with excellent agility and slide step, and he should be more than a Combine warrior, where he has long 36”-plus arms to shove defenders past the pocket, big hands, and is strong with 34 reps at 225 to hold ground on potential bull rushers.

I like Charles Brown and his athleticism for the ZBS too. While not as chiseled or strong as Campbell, Brown would be a nice athletic anchor on the blind side.

No. 6: Lamarr Houston from Texas or Alex Carrington from Ark St.

DE is a major need, but I like Lamarr Houston at the three tech, allowing Brandon Mebane to go back to one tech. Lamarr was originally a running back in high school and was converted to the DL position at Texas. He played DE and most recently DT in 2009. His versatility to get after the QB and play run defense would be a welcome addition to a team looking to bolster the DL.

Lamarr had more sacks and tackles for loss than top-five forecasted Gerald McCoy and faced similar competition and double teams. At 6’3” and 305 lbs, Houston is a beast. Not only very productive on the football field, his combine measurables were outstanding as well.

Houston benched 225 30 times while McCoy repped 23. Houston ran a 4.85 40-yard dash and has quickness, and he vertical jumped 33.5”, which shows lower body explosion.

Alex Carrington looked good at the Senior Bowl and would bring some toughness and pass rush ability to the strong-side DE position. I like the versatility with Alex too.

No. 104: Anthony Dixon, power back from MSU

I like Anthony Dixon to assume the complementary power back role for the Hawks. Dixon is 6’1”, 235 lbs. and has surprisingly quick feet with the ability to one-cut and burst, which would be ideal in the Hawks' ZBS and rare to find in a power back at 235 lbs. He has surprisingly good vision too.

Dixon would bring some needed toughness and ferocity to an offense that has typically been called soft. If you want to watch Dixon’s quick feet and good burst for a power back, click this link.

AD was the focal point in MSU’s offense and targeted weekly by tough SEC defenses, but AD came up big week after week against the best competition in the land.

No. 127: Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, DE from Washington

With the retirement of Patrick Kerney and trade of Darryl Tapp, we lack a pass rusher. I didn’t want to reach in round one, so let’s wait until round four to go after the proverbial, cliché high-motor DE that is an overachiever but looks to be a player.

In pro day drills, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim showed off his motor, quick burst, and fluid hips. There’s football production and athletic talent to get a guy that could be a welcome addition to Hawk third down packages.

DTN had the second fastest three-cone time of any DL at the NFL Combine, which measures change of direction and show hip fluidity. We need a pass rusher and, unfortunately, wait until day three to grab one.

 No. 133: Marshall Newhouse, OG from TCU

At 6’3.5” and 319 with good footwork, strength, and smarts, Marshall Newhouse, nephew of former Cowboy great Robert Newhouse, would seem to fit the Hawks' ZBS and take over Rob Sims' departed LG position.

Newhouse is one of three OL that ran a sub-five-second 40-yard dash. Not trying to be Al Davis, but it corroborates some athletic ability to go with the football production. Al’s problem is he forgets about football production and focuses solely on measurables.

 No. 139: Perrish Cox, troubled CB from OSU

Perrish Cox is slipping, and maybe he’ll be around in round five. Perrish has second-round talent but a five-cent head at times.

He missed curfew before Oklahoma State's bowl game against Ole Miss, was suspended, and wasn’t allowed to perform at OSU’s pro day. Still, I saw Perrish at OSU, and the guy would be a steal at this juncture.

He has the ability to play press coverage, some size to blow up the run game to the outside, and the speed to be a punt returner on special teams. I believe he has a couple of kids and needs to grow up in a hurry.

With our porous secondary, Cox is worth the risk at this late juncture of the draft.

I won’t do round six or seven because I don’t have a basis for an opinion.

With so many needs and only so many selections, these are some of the guys that I hope are available and selected when the Hawks are on the clock. We’ll look to add some game breakers on O in 2011, but we need to build a foundation to compete in 2010, and that is on the OL, DL, and in the secondary.

Good fortunes to Pete Carroll and John Schneider come draft day!